Future-proof today for peace of mind tomorrow One of the primary considerations has to be where will the industry be in five years? Taking the step today to future-proof your career for tomorrow would have to be a prudent step. We know waiting for legislation to come in is often a lesson in futile patience. However, the vested interest groups, like insurance companies as the leading example, are the soft regulators in the sector. There is already talk between the vested interest groups that we will work towards the Level 7 becoming a soft regulated criterion over the next few years. With eyes wide open an insurance underwriter will view practitioners with their level 7 as a better candidate for indemnity insurance.

If we take the lead from the HEE and with the majority of industry-specific awarding bodies originating in the UK, it is relevant to Ireland. They have already demonstrated an intent for future regulation, and we cannot be so nieve to think it will not come to Ireland. Health Education England guidelines (2016) mention that everyone delivering cosmetic interventions should demonstrate an appropriate level of formal training. The HEE also outlined for the first time (2015 P:39) that ‘short courses’ would not count as evidence for future Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

“Only previous studies taken at the same level as (or higher than) the course for which the applicant is requesting partial exemption will be considered for APL and very short courses, e.g. 1-2 days in duration, will not meet the requirements for APL/RPL.”

There is no doubt in our mind that within a few years either hard legislation or soft legislation through vested interest groups will have made the level 7, a foundation requirement for the safe and ethical delivery of cosmetic injectables.

Competitive market The injectable cosmetics sector is competitive, even without the rogue, unregulated operators. Clients are becoming more educated every year about the procedures they are looking for. Guaranteed, as the level 7 becomes more popular they will be looking for practitioners level 7 certified. It will become the ones that did not invest in their education that pay more for their insurance while gaining fewer clients looking for their services. Specialisation has always been the lifeblood of the medical sector so why would injectable cosmetics be any different?

Better patient outcomes While we can point at unregulated operators filling the media with unwanted outcomes, we cannot say it is just the unregulated rouge operators producing these botched procedures. Very few practitioners emerge from postgraduate university courses specific to injectables, estimations in the UK are around only 20 to 30 per year. Here in Ireland, it must be a handful at best, this transpires to the majority of practitioners emerging with just a one day course, limited training in injection technique or management in complications that may arise. It is little wonder aesthetic medicine has been in the news more in a negative frame than positive since conception.

Education is not a cost; it is an investment, you reap the rewards of investing in education tenfold. You are a doctor, dentist or nurse because you decided that it was worth investing in your future. Progressing and becoming a certified level 7 practitioner in injectables for aesthetic medicine, is that same methodology. Investing today for you of tomorrow and you will thank yourself for it.